Marijuana Amotivational Syndrome: Real or Unreal?

First, let us know what this Marijuana Amotivational Syndrome Is. People who use marijuana for a long period of time and those who started using at an early age, sixteen years old and younger, are at risk for what is called Marijuana Amotivational Syndrome. There are claims that chronic and heavy use of marijuana can cause changes in the brain and therefore it is very much possible that weed can affect the part of the brain responsible for motivation.

But does this medical condition really exist? A lot of studies have been conducted to try to explain if it is a real condition caused by heavy and longtime use of marijuana but the results of those studies doesn’t seem to be enough to prove the existence or non -existence of this so called syndrome.

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What are the signs and symptoms of this condition?

A weed user may be (or may not be) identified as having Marijuana Amotivational Syndrome if he experiences diminished capacity or is no longer willing to carry out complex and long term plans, develops and follows routine, may lose effectiveness and may be apathetic. In layman’s term, the person becomes lazy and does not have any interest of working and making something out of his life.

Real or Not Real?

Studies that were done before which made use of observation claimed that this Marijuana Amotivational Syndrome does not exist. Those studies used a group of marijuana smokers and they were observed to know whether the amount of weed used has an effect on their working capacity and motivation of achieving something. The results showed that there is no relationship between weed use and the motivation of a person.

Studies done many years that claimed that they have proven the existence of Marijuana Amotivational Syndrome were observed to be done on the younger population, so those studies are not credible enough to be used as evidence to prove whether this medical condition really does exist and affect chronic marijuana users.

Another study showed that marijuana use can impair the motivational development on adolescents but that can be reversed by not taking marijuana for about several months to a year. However, this was done on rhesus monkeys and that does not prove the syndrome’s existence.

But times have changed, medicine is already evolving and through the many inventions and the advancement of technology, proving or disproving the Marijuana Amotivational Syndrome theory can be much easier. Thank you, science and technology!

Through scanning and looking at pictures of a chronic marijuana pot smoker, today’s researchers have an explanation of why MAS is real. As I have mentioned before, marijuana has effects on our brain that we may not fully understand. However, it does interfere with the production of what we call the dopamine. There is a decrease in dopamine found in the chronic marijuana users’ brain.

And how is this connected to Marijuana Amotivational Syndrome? Well, dopamine is directly linked to motivation and reward. And if that is the case, if there is a decrease in dopamine, there is also a decrease in motivation.